Eddy-current clutch and brake motor



March 3, 1953 R. LANDls 2,630,466

EDDY-CURRENT CLUTCH AND BRAKE MOTOR Filed Jah. 24, 195o 2 srmETs-SHEET 1fm J5 a6 l N V11' N TOR.

ATTCHHSYS March 3, 1953 R, LANDls 2,630,466'

EDDY-CURRENT CLUTCH AND BRAKE: MOTOR Filed Jan. 24, 1950 2SPEETS-F-SHEET 2 I ffl/0220755,

ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 3, 1953 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE..

EDDY'- CURRENT' CLUTCH AND" BRAKE MOTOR Robert Landis, Milwaukee, Wis.

pplibation January 24, 1950, Serial No'. 140,260

(Cl. WZL-284,)

3 Claims.. I

This invention relates te electric motors having electro-magnetic oreddy-current clutch and brake instrumentalities incorporated therein,and in. particular an electric motor particularly adapted forquickstartingl and stopping and in which the motor shaft is driven by anarmature rotating within a' 'eld with the armature connected to' theshaft throughv an electro-magnetic clutch and with the shaft held by anelectromagnetic brake when released by the clutch.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a quick stopping andstarting motor' wherein the armature of the motor is positioned on aoating element' between the shaft' and heid so thatv the shaft may beinstantly' disengaged or relieved from the influence of the ii'eld andsimultaneously gripped by a stationary element.

In the usual stop and go motor mechanical means is provided for grippingthe shaft wherein the current is stopped and where the shaft is held orstopped by an eddy-current coupling or electro-magnetic means separateunits are provided and. these require comparatively elaborate and costlyinstallations. With this thought in mind this invention contemplatesincorporating an eddy-current clutch or coupling in a motor housing and.providing braking means of a similar character in combination therewith.

The object of this invention is, therefore, topro vide means for.incorporating an eddy-current clutch and an eddy-current brake in thehousing of an electric motor'.

Another object oiv the invention is to provide means for mounting thearmature or motor winding' of an electric motor whereby theVarmature'may be instantly disconnected from the shait and' also wherebythe shaft may be instantly gripped and' held'.

A further object of the invention is to provide a combinationeddy-current clutch and brake in combination with an electric motor inwhich the complete motor is of a comparatively simple and economicalconstruction'.

Withv these and other objects and advantages in View the inventionembodies a motor having a' stationary housing withl a shaft journaledAin ends of the housing `and in which' a iioating spider is journaled onthe shaft'v and wherein the spider carries an armature winding thatisposit'ionedv to coac't with field windings of the housing and' alsoeddy-current coils positioned to coact with a drum carried by the shaft,and in which the housing is provided with eddy-current coils positioned`to coactwith the drum to' form a brake.

Other features and advantages of the invention 2. will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the eddy-current clutch andbrakev motor with. the housingv broken away and with` the lower partthereof shown in elevation.

FigureA 2 is a similar View` through" the eddycurrent clutch and brakeelement with the motor elements omitted and. showing a modificationwherein the clutch and brake elements are aligned.

Figure 3 is' a similar view showing a further modication wherein theclutch and. brake ele ments are reversed in comparison to correspondingelements shown in Figure l.V

Figure 4 is a plan View of the eddy-current clutch with parts brokenaway showingitheiwinding therein.

Figure 5 is an end elevational view ofthe' eddycurrent clutch memberalso with parts broken away showing the winding therein.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the eddy-current brake of the design shown inFigure 1 with parts of the brake ring and associated housing brokenaway, and with the drum carried by theishaft and other parts omitted.

Figure 7 is a View looking toward the' inner' end of the eddy-currentbrake element shown'v in Fig"- ure 6 with parts broken away.

Figure 8 is a plan View ofthe drum positioned between clutch and brakeelements with other parts omitted.

Figure 9 is an end elevational view looking toward. the end of the drumshown in Figure 8 with otherparts omitted.

Figure 10 is a detail showing a crossv section on line lil-I0 of Figure5 being taken through the clutch coil ring of the spider.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved eddy-current clutch and brake motor ofthis invention includes a shaft I0 having a spider Il journaled thereonwith an armature winding l2 on the spider positioned to' coact with afield winding i3 in a housing |4 and a drum I 5 carried by the shaft andpositioned between eddy'- current' clutch coils IS and I1 carriedby thespider, and brake coils I8 and I'9 carried" by an end plate 20 of thehousing.

The' shaft ID is journaled in the housing ofthe motor through bearings2| and 22 with the bearing 2l in an end plate 23 and the bearing 2-2 inthe end plate 2li- The spider Il journaled on the shaft I'D throughbearings 24- andy 25.

The clutch and brake end of the spider is provided with an annular web26 having a heavy ring 21 extended therefrom and carried thereby. Thering 21 is provided with spaced annular grooves 28 and 29 in which thecoils I6 and I1 are positioned, and as illustrated in Figure 1, thecoils are carried by radially disposed U-shape saddles 5 and 6 which areformed of ilat iron strips. The saddles 5 and 6 are secured in positionby pins 1 that extend through the ring 21 as shown in Figures 1 and 5.An outer annular band 8 is positioned on the outer surface of the ring21, providing a cover for the grooves 28 and 29. Air circulatingopenings 9 are provided through the ring 21, and similar openings 4 areprovided in the base of the grooves 28 and 29. The ring 21 is connectedto the web 25 by spaced ribs 3D, and iins 3I are provided on the innerside of the web as shown in Figures l and 4, whereby the ribs and finsform fan blades which circulate air through the motor. The coils I5 andI1 are connected by wires 32 and 33 to slip rings 34 and 35 on aninsulating ring 36 on the opposite side of the spider, and asillustrated in Figure l, the rings engage contact points of wires 31 and38 which are connected to any suitable source of current supply.

With the parts arranged in this manner the spider II is free to rotateabout the shaft Iil and when it is desired to rotate the shaft the coilsI6 and I1 are energized through the wires 32 and 33 whereby a magneticforce is set up that grips an outer band 35 of the drum I5, therebyforming a clutch with the drum I5 held to the shaft I0 by a key in akeyway i5 and the hub 4I of the drum on the shaft is rotated with thespider and armature of the motor.

The eddy-current brake is formed by the coils I8 and I9 which arepositioned in grooves d2 and -43 of a ring 44 carried by a band l5extended inwardly from the end plate 20. The coils are held by U-shapesaddles 46, similar to the saddles 5 and 6 and the saddles are held bypins 41. Current is supplied to these coils by wires extended throughopenings through the end plate 20. When the coils I8 and I9 areenergized and electro-magnetic force is set up which grips the drum I5whereby the drum and shaft are held stationary in the housing.

Current is, therefore, alternately supplied to thev clutch coils I6 andI1, and to the brake coils I8 and I9 whereby through a suitable controlpanel the coils l5 and I1 are energized with the Amotorjoperating and assoon as it is desired to stop the motor these coils are deenergized andcurrent is supplied to the coils I8 and I9 which instantly stop theshaft of the motor by providing an eddy-current or electro-magneticbrake.

Vanes 48 are provided between the bands of the drum l5 to providecirculating means for drawing air through the clutch and brake actuatinginstrumentalities. In order to dissipate heat the band 39 is providedwith openings or slots 49 and the inner section of the drum is providedwith similar openings or slots 5G and the coils IB and I1 and also thecoils I8 and I9 are provided in open grooves as illustrated in Figures 5and 7 whereby free circulation of air is provided around the elementsfor cooling. The wall of the housing I4 is also provided with openings5I, the end plate 25 with openings 52 and the end plate 23 with openings53 whereby the housing is completely ventilated and with fan bladesprovided in the rotating elements the heat is dissipated and the partscooled.

In the design illustrated in Figure 3 a drum asv 54 having an outer band55 and an inner band 56 is carried by the hub 51 on a shaft 58 andbraking coils 59 and 60 in a member 6I extended inwardly from an endplate 62 of a housing B3 are positioned on the outer side of the druminstead of on the inside with the braking coils `positioned to inuencethe band 55, whereas clutch coils 64 and 65 on a hub 55 of a spider 61similar to the spider II are positioned on the inside of the drumwherein they influence the inner band 55 for rotating the shaft with thespider. Connections are made to these coils similar to the connectionsshown in Figure 1 and the rotating elements are also provided with ribs,ns, and vanes which provide fan blades for circulating air through theparts.

In the design shown in Figure 2 clutch coils 68 and 69 similar to thecoils I6 and I1 are positioned in a ring 'IIJ carried by a spider 1I andthese coils are positioned to influence a band 12 of a hub 13 on ashaft'lll for driving the shaft with the spider and armature of themotor. Brake coils 15 and I6 similar to the coils I8 and i9 are mountedin a ring 11 extended inwardly from an end plate 1S of a'housing 19whereby these coils influence a band Sil on the hub 13 and provide abrake for stopping the shaft.

It will be understood that the eddy-current clutch and brake coils maybe mounted in various positions and substantially the same combinationof elements may be provided for motors of different types or thatoperate under dinerent conditions.

It will be understood that modifications may be made in the design andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What is claimed is: p

1. In an eddy-current clutch and brake motor, the combination whichcomprises a shaft, a cylindrical member having radially disposed memberson one end providing a spider, an armature winding of the motor carriedby the spider, a housing surrounding the spider and in which the shaftis journaled, eld windings in the housing and positioned to coact withthe armature winding of the motor, a drum including spaced cylindricalsections concentric with the shaft mounted on the shaft and keyedthereto, electromagnetic means carried by said spider and positionedaround the outer cylindrical section of the drum whereby magnetic fluxof the magnets coacts with the outer cylindrical section of the drum forcausing the drum and shaft to rotate with the armature of the motor, andelectromagnetic means carried by the hou-sing and positioned wherebymagnetic flux thereof coacts with the other cylindrical section of thedrumto provide a brake.

2. In an eddy-current clutch and brake motor, the combination whichcomprises a shaft, a cylindrical member having radially disposed memberson one end providing a spider, an armature winding of the motor carriedby the spider, a housing surrounding the spider and in which the shaftis journaled, eld windings in the housing and positioned to coact withthe armature winding of the motor, a drum including spaced cylindricalsections concentric with the shaft mounted on the shaft and keyedthereto, electromagnetic means carried by said spider and positionedaround the outer cylindrical section of the drum whereby magnetic fluxof the magnets coacts with the outer cylindrical section of the drum forcausing the drum and shaft to rotate with the amature of the motor, andelectromagnetic means carried by the housing and positioned inside ofthe drum whereby magnetic ux of the magnets coacts with the innercylindrical section of the drum to provide a brake.

3. In an eddy-current clutch and brake motor, the combination whichcomprises a shaft. a cylindrical member having radially disposed memberson one end providing a spider, an armature winding of the motor carriedby the spider, a housing surrounding the spider and in which the shaftis journaled, eld windings in the housing and positioned to coact withthe armature winding of the motor, a drum including spaced cylindricalsections concentric with the shaft mounted on the shaft and keyedthereto, electromagnetic means carried by said spider and positionedaround the outer cylindrical section of the drum whereby magnetic fluxof the magnets coacts with the outer cylindrical section of the drum forcausing the drum and shaft to rotate with the armature of the motor.electro- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in thefile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,025,487 Winther Dec. 24, 19352,317,290 McIlvried Apr. 20, 1943 2,333,863 Hull Nov. 9, 1943 2,343,291Gilllan Mar. 7, 1944 2,372,633 Angold Mar. 27, 1945 2,452,820 WintherNov. 2, 1948 2,471,505 Winther May 31, 1949

